On 17 June 2014,
Russian state television correspondent Igor Kornelyuk and sound engineer Anton Voloshin were victims of a mortar strike
launched by the Armed Forces of Ukraine near
Metalist,
Slovianoserbsk Raion
Slovianoserbsk Raion () was a raion (district) in Luhansk Oblast of eastern Ukraine. It was named after Slavo-Serbia, an imperial Russian province that existed between 1753–64. The raion was abolished on 18 July 2020 as part of the administrativ ...
, Ukraine, while travelling with a group of
LPR rebel separatist fighters during the ongoing
war in Donbass
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...
.
They were killed in the attack, along with five rebels.
Cameraman Viktor Denisov was not injured in the attack.
A Ukrainian military pilot,
Nadiya Savchenko, who served as instructor with a volunteer infantry unit,
Aidar Battalion
24th Separate Assault Battalion "Aidar", also known as the Aidar Battalion, is an assault battalion of the Ukrainian Ground Forces.
The unit took part in the war in Eastern Ukraine and had roughly 300-400 members in 2014. It was named after the ...
, was taken prisoner by the rebel forces at the LPR territory, brought to Russia and convicted to 22 years of imprisonment for allegedly directing the mortar fire and illegal crossing of the Russian border.
After two years of imprisonment, she was released in a prisoner swap for two Russian prisoners in Ukraine.
Attack
Igor Kornelyuk
Career
Igor Kornelyuk graduated from the Institute of Culture in St. Petersburg.
Since 1998 he worked as a correspondent in "Yamal" and was a leader on the editorial board of children's programs.
Kornelyuk was employed as correspondent for Russia state-owned broadcaster
VGTRK, and spent a total of 15 years with VGTRK.
Kornelyuk worked alongside Anton Voloshin, reporting on events taking place during the
pro-Russian conflict in
Eastern Ukraine
Eastern Ukraine or east Ukraine ( uk, Східна Україна, Skhidna Ukrayina; russian: Восточная Украина, Vostochnaya Ukraina) is primarily the territory of Ukraine east of the Dnipro (or Dnieper) river, particularly Khar ...
.
Death
After the attack by Ukrainian Forces, Igor Kornelyuk was taken to Luhansk Regional Hospital by pro-Russian separatists.
At the hospital Igor was diagnosed with having shrapnel wounds to the abdomen, legs and burns to the face. Igor would die only after 35 minutes in the emergency room. Igor Kornelyuk died on 17 June 2014 in the city of
Luhansk, Ukraine.
Igor Kornelyuk is survived by his wife Catherine Kornelyuk
and their young daughter.
Family and friends gathered in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
to pay final respects to Kornelyuk.
Anton Voloshin
Career
Anton Voloshin was employed as a
sound engineer
An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproductio ...
with the Russian state-owned broadcaster
VGTRK.
Anton worked alongside Igor Kornelyuk, reporting on events taking place during the Pro-Russian conflict in Eastern Ukraine.
Death
Anton Voloshin was killed, 17 June 2014, at the scene of the mortar attack in Metalist, Slovianoserbsk Raion, Ukraine. At first Voloshin was presumed missing,
until body remains were later identified by Viktor Denisov, a VGTRK cameraman who was not harmed in the attack.
Detention and conviction of Nadiya Savchenko
After the event, the Russian prosecutors charged Ukrainian
army aviation helicopter pilot
Nadiya Savchenko (sometimes transliterated as Nadezhda) for assisting in the deaths of Igor Kornelyuk and Anton Voloshin.
Despite having an
alibi
An alibi (from the Latin, '' alibī'', meaning "somewhere else") is a statement by a person, who is a possible perpetrator of a crime, of where they were at the time a particular offence was committed, which is somewhere other than where the crim ...
(she was captured by the rebels one hour before the mortar attack occurred according to
billing data of mobile phones), she is accused of informing Ukrainian Forces of the location of the journalists.
A guilty verdict was delivered 20 March 2016, and she was sentenced the next day to 22 years.
[ On 25 May 2016, the Ukrainian and Russian governments exchanged prisoners, and Savchenko was released and flown to ]Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe.
Kyi ...
while two Russian prisoners held in Ukrainian prison were released to Russia.
Impact
The deaths of both Igor Kornelyuk and Anton Voloshin add on to a growing list of journalists whom have died on the Russo-Ukrainian War
The Russo-Ukrainian War; uk, російсько-українська війна, rosiisko-ukrainska viina. has been ongoing between Russia (alongside Russian separatists in Ukraine) and Ukraine since February 2014. Following Ukraine's Rev ...
The region of Eastern Ukraine has been regarded as a "trap for journalists". Leading to many to call for action to help protect the lives of journalist in major conflict areas such as in Eastern Ukraine.
Reactions
Dunja Mijatovic, OSCE
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...
representative on freedom of the media, stated in response to the event, "This death is yet another horrid reminder that not enough is being done to protect journalists who risk their lives reporting from conflict zones in Ukraine". An investigation into the event started by the Investigative Committee of Russia, stating that this event as a criminal case. Russian Prime Minister
The chairman of the government of the Russian Federation, also informally known as the prime minister, is the nominal head of government of Russia. Although the post dates back to 1905, its current form was established on 12 December 1993 f ...
Dmitry Medvedev expressed his anger toward the Ukrainian Government
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine ( uk, Кабінет Міністрів України, translit=Kabinet Ministriv Ukrainy; shortened to CabMin), commonly referred to as the Government of Ukraine ( uk, Уряд України, ''Uriad Ukrai ...
stating that they should be the ones held responsible for the killing. Condemning the killings as "crime of Ukrainian forces".
Irina Bokova, director-general of UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
, on 19 June 2014, denounced the killing of Russian journalist Igor Kornelyuk and sound engineer Anton Voloshin. Bokova said, "I am deeply shocked by the death of journalists Igor Kornelyuk, and Anton Voloshin. I call on all parties to respect the civilian status of journalists and let them carry out their important professional activities in safe conditions in keeping with the Geneva Convention and its Protocols."
Ukrainian President
The president of Ukraine ( uk, Президент України, Prezydent Ukrainy) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, condu ...
Petro Poroshenko
Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko ( uk, Петро́ Олексі́йович Пороше́нко, ; born 26 September 1965) is a Ukrainian businessman and politician who served as the fifth president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019. Poroshenko se ...
promised an investigation into the deaths of the journalists. In a conversation with Russian President
The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
, Poroshenko expressed his condolences to the families of the journalist.
Awards
Both Igor Kornelyuk and Anton Voloshin were awarded with a medal of courage by the Russian government.
See also
* 2014–15 Russian military intervention in Ukraine
The Russo-Ukrainian War; uk, російсько-українська війна, rosiisko-ukrainska viina. has been ongoing between Russia (alongside Russian separatists in Ukraine) and Ukraine since February 2014. Following Ukraine's Revo ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kornelyuk and Voloshin
1977 births
2014 deaths
Journalists killed while covering the war in Donbas
People from Zaporizhzhia
Recipients of the Order of Courage
Russian journalists
June 2014 events